How basketball analytics made offensive rebounding a big focal point for Sacramento Kings
Offensive rebounding has been a huge point of emphasis during training camp in Sacramento as the Kings prepare for the 2024-25 season with their sights set on a return to the NBA playoffs.
Kings coach Mike Brown is urging his players to crash the glass like never before after conversations with analytically minded general manager Monte McNair convinced him to make offensive rebounding a staple for this year’s team.
“It’s best when you give people ownership around you to make them feel part of the process, so I don’t care if an idea comes from somebody in our video room, somebody on the coaching staff, or Mel, my executive assistant,” Brown said. “If she’s got a great idea, hey, let’s roll with it, and in this case with offensive rebounding, it was Monte.”
Brown explained McNair’s role in the discussion on the eve of his team’s preseason opener against the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento.
“He’s a huge analytics guy,” Brown said. “He came to us during our coaches retreat in Tahoe my first year, and the one thing I will always do if I’m not used to something, I’m going to push back and push back hard. If you continue to show that you believe in what you’re saying, then I’ll most likely give it a go. He threw it out there and I said, ‘Well, it’s going to kill us in transition defense,’ and I kept trying to find ways to fight it. He kept sticking to his guns and saying he believed in it, so I said, ‘OK, let’s try it.’”
By the numbers
The Kings finished 12th in offensive rebounding with 10.8 per game last season. They were 17th before the All-Star break (10.3) and fifth after the break (11.9). Brown was pleased to see the team’s transition defense stayed strong as the Kings tied for first in the NBA in opponent fastbreak points per game (11.7).
Brown was coaching the Nigerian national team with Jordi Fernandez and Luke Loucks in 2021 when he started to rethink offensive rebounding after watching New Zealand attack the glass. Brown didn’t buy into the idea entirely, but McNair made him a believer.
“Talking to Monte was a little bit more convincing,” Brown said. “The next step was doing it in practice and training camp and seeing it on film and realizing, hey, we’re sending these guys to the glass, but because of the way we’re doing it, we’re still pretty good in transition defense. It’s been two years now, going into Year 3, so I’m convinced that you can attack the glass while still being good in transition defense. It just took time.”
Offensive rebounds result in extra possessions, sometimes leading to putback baskets or open 3-pointers. Domantas Sabonis, an All-NBA center who led the league in rebounding in 2023-24, believes the emphasis on offensive rebounding will be beneficial for a Kings team that lost in the play-in tournament last season.
“It’s going to be big,” Sabonis said. “All the numbers the last couple years, the points are through the roof per possession on offensive rebounds, so coaches are really focusing on that. ... We added another crasher last year toward the end of the season and our transition defense was still No. 1, so coaches want us to do it now from the jump.”
Crashing the glass
Brown said one of the early offensive rebounding standouts has been Isaac Jones, a rookie forward who signed a two-way contract with the Kings after going undrafted out of Washington State.
“We charted crashes in the scrimmage we had on Saturday,” Brown said. “You look at a guy like Isaac Jones. I think he was 4 for 5 from (3-point range), but they were all catch-and-shoot shots where he got to his spot, the floor was spaced, the ball got kicked to him or sprayed to him and he took the right shot in rhythm.
“That was great, but more importantly, I think he had 11 opportunities to crash and he crashed all 11 times and came up with some big rebounds. One time he crashed, got the rebound, sprayed it, relocated, had his feet set in the corner, the ball found him again and he knocked down a 3, all in one possession, so when you have players that are going to bring something special like that to the table, for me and the rest of the staff, that’s eye opening.”
Brown said offensive rebounding could be a consideration as the Kings cut their roster from 21 to 18 before the start of the regular season.
“We’re a team that likes to offensive rebound, so if somebody’s in that crash position, are they going to give the effort to crash every time and get a hand on the ball?” Brown said. “That is a unique skill set that not many guys can do every single time. A lot of guys can do it 50% of the time. Most guys can do it 75% of the time. Not many can crash 100% of the time, putting that pressure on the defense and trying to get your hand on the ball, so that’s a skill set that we’re looking for.”
This story was originally published October 9, 2024 at 2:39 PM.
